Married the Sick Uncle – Just Waiting to Inherit His Fortune

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Being a Stepmother

She had been quite warm toward him yesterday, but today she was giving him the cold shoulder.

Anne Sutton looked at Nathan Fawcett and said, "I have something to ask you."

"Just say it."

"Then you have to promise you won’t lie to me."

Nathan Fawcett: "..."

’How could he possibly promise that?’

Anne Sutton looked at the man. "I don’t know why, but I always feel like you’re lying to me."

Everything this man did struck Anne Sutton as strange.

But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was so strange about it.

Nathan Fawcett said, "Then don’t ask. I don’t want to answer anyway."

There were many things he couldn’t be honest with her about, nor did he want to be.

Nathan Fawcett’s words completely shut down Anne Sutton’s line of questioning.

She said, "I have plans tonight, so you don’t need to pick me up. You can go eat with Stella Shields! I need to go see my mom. I haven’t been over in the last couple of days."

Nathan Fawcett looked at her and didn’t try to persuade her. "Suit yourself."

His words sent a further chill through Anne Sutton’s heart.

She had previously thought that what Stella Shields said might all be lies, but now...

...she wasn’t so sure anymore.

***

Stella Shields sat in the car with Ian beside her. She looked at the little boy and said, "Ian."

Ian looked at her with his big, bright eyes.

Stella Shields said, "Do you like Auntie Sutton a lot?"

"She’s very nice to Ian," Ian said. "She’s a good person!"

Stella said, "But Mommy doesn’t like her at all."

"Why?" Ian couldn’t understand. "She’s great! She’s really, really nice to me."

Stella Shields said, "She’s a bad woman!"

Stella Shields felt no guilt as she said this. ’To Ian,’ she thought, ’Anne Sutton was a bad person to begin with.’

’After all, she was the one who tried to get rid of Ian back then.’

’If Nathan Fawcett hadn’t shown up, Ian wouldn’t even exist in this world.’

Ian asked, "Why?"

"There are some things you don’t understand," Stella Shields said. "But you will when you’re older. Ian, don’t get too close to her! I know you want someone to be with you. From now on, I’ll be by your side to keep you company, okay?"

Ian looked at Stella Shields but didn’t respond.

When they arrived home, Stella Shields lifted Ian out of the car.

Truth be told, Stella Shields wasn’t particularly fond of children.

Especially not this child, who wasn’t even hers.

’He’s Anne Sutton’s!’

’What reason did she have to be nice to him?’

That was why she hadn’t been very close to Ian over the years.

But now, the fact that Nathan Fawcett was getting close to Anne Sutton just to find a mother for the child made her uncomfortable.

She had no choice but to bring Ian back with her.

’Anyway, Mother is at home. She’ll help take care of him.’

She set Ian down and led him through the door.

Mrs. Shields was there. Seeing the child trailing behind Stella Shields, she asked, "Is that Ethan Linden’s child?"

"Mhm," Stella Shields said. "This is Ian. Ian, this is Grandma."

Ian did as Stella Shields told him, though he didn’t quite understand.

Mrs. Shields looked at Ian. He was so adorable that she couldn’t help but smile. "Ian."

Stella Shields sat down and said, "Ethan Linden has to work, so I brought Ian over. Let’s just have him stay here at home today!"

She had brought Ian’s little backpack and toys. Ian opened his bag and started playing with his things.

Mrs. Shields sat beside her and said to Stella Shields, "Whose child is he, really? Everyone is saying you’re the mother."

As Stella Shields’s mother, she naturally knew the child wasn’t hers.

Stella Shields had never even been pregnant, so where would a child have come from?

The fact that Ethan Linden had a child without even being married still bothered Mrs. Shields.

After all, as a doting mother, how could she want her own daughter to run off and be a stepmother to someone else’s child?

Stella Shields said, "It’s not important. Anyway, I’ll treat him as my own son from now on. Just make sure you don’t say the wrong thing in front of others."

Mrs. Shields said, "Fine! I won’t say anything. It’s just... if you end up with Ethan Linden, you’ll have to have another child of your own sooner or later, right? Have you talked to him about this? If you don’t, when Ian grows up, everything from the Linden Family will be his. It’d be one thing if his mother never shows up, but what if she comes knocking? What share of the Linden Family’s fortune would be left for you?"

She was very worried that if Stella Shields married Ethan Linden and raised a child that wasn’t her own, it would all be for nothing in the end.

Stella Shields said, "Isn’t it too early to be talking about this? I’m not with Ethan Linden for those reasons."

As long as she could marry him, she didn’t care about anything else.

As for the family fortune...

’I haven’t even really thought about it!’

"How is it too early?" Mrs. Shields said. "A woman shouldn’t take love so seriously. You won’t even know how you got hurt when it happens! If you can marry into the Linden Family, of course I’ll be happy for you, but you need to plan carefully for your share of everything."

If Ethan Linden only ever had this one son, then in the future...

...there would be no one to even take care of Stella Shields in her old age.

Mrs. Shields was very worried.

...

Stella Shields glanced at Ian and said, "We’ll talk about it later! Thinking about all this now is just giving me a headache."

She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

’The priority right now is figuring out how to stop Anne Sutton from staying by Nathan Fawcett’s side.’

Mrs. Shields said, "Alright then! You rest at home. I’m going to the hospital in a bit to see your Auntie Ford."

"Which Auntie Ford?" Stella Shields looked at her mother. "Anne Sutton’s mother?"

Although she hadn’t been home much, she’d heard from her older brother recently that her mother had been getting very close with Anne Sutton’s mother.

"That’s right!" Mrs. Shields said. "Oh, and she said she’s a fan of yours. She loves watching your TV shows. You should sign an autograph for her, and I’ll take it over."

Thinking of Anne Sutton, Stella Shields said, "I’ll go with you later!"

Mrs. Shields looked at her. "Really? You don’t think it’s a bother?"

"She’s my mother’s friend. Of course I should pay her a visit, shouldn’t I?"

Mrs. Shields looked at her daughter. "Our Stella is so well-behaved. You’re so thoughtful. Mommy is so proud of you."

Stella Shields’s lips curved into a small smile.

...

Anne Sutton only came to the hospital to see her mother after she got off work.

When she walked in, she found Mrs. Shields and Stella Shields were both there. Not only that, but Stella Shields had also brought Ian with her.

The hospital room was quite lively.

Sharon Sutton was talking to Stella Shields. "Stella, I really love you! So many of my classmates are your fans, especially after that show you were in recently. We all adore you!"

Stella Shields smiled and signed an autograph for Sharon Sutton as requested.

Anne Sutton walked in and froze, stunned by the scene in the hospital room.

’Stella Shields is a huge star, after all. What is she doing just showing up at a hospital like this?’

But Ian spotted her right away and grinned. "Mommy."

Then he ran over and hugged Anne Sutton’s leg.

Anne Sutton picked up the little boy. Sitting off to the side, Stella Shields watched the scene, her expression darkening. She had spent the whole day reminding Ian to stay away from Anne Sutton. ’It looks like he didn’t remember a single word,’ she thought.